November 28, 2011

Wanted but not expected: Elena Kagan's recusal

The Rube Goldberg law we derisively refer to as "Obamacare" will come before the U.S. Supreme Court next spring or summer for a thorough examination of its constitutionality. The mandate to purchase health care insurance is the key issue in question.

By now you have probably heard that one of the biggest cheerleaders for Obamacare, Justice Elena Kagan, will be among the jurists who rule on whether the law passes constitutional muster. She was President Obama's solicitor general during the underhanded machinations that ram-rodded this abominable legislation down the American people's throats back in March 2010.

The problem is, it is up to the Supreme Court justices themselves whether they recuse themselves from a case in which they may have a conflict of interest. If Justice Kagan has a shred of integrity, she will recuse herself from this landmark case.

But that's probably asking way too much from someone who was a part of the most political, politicized administration in U.S. history. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and three of his colleagues wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder explaining their rationale for seeking her recusal. But Holder is the epitome of a hack, and I am certain the letter has fallen on deaf ears.

Imagine the outrage from the old media and the whiny leftists if one of the Supreme Court justices had recently been an outspoken opponent of Obamacare and refused to recuse himself. If Kagan stays in place, the Supreme Court will have lowered itself to the level of the House of Representatives, which bent and broke rules and protocols with abandon to force Obamacare through at the 11th hour with a series of sleazy backroom deals.